@article {La Scola2270,
author = {La Scola, B and Raoult, D},
title = {Serological cross-reactions between Bartonella quintana, Bartonella henselae, and Coxiella burnetii.},
volume = {34},
number = {9},
pages = {2270--2274},
year = {1996},
publisher = {American Society for Microbiology Journals},
abstract = {The clinical manifestations of Q fever and bartonelloses can be confused, especially in cases of infectious endocarditis. Differential diagnosis of the diseases is important because the treatments required for Q fever and bartonelloses are different. Laboratory confirmation of a suspected case of either Q fever or bartonelloses is most commonly made by antibody estimation with an indirect immunofluorescence assay. With an indirect immunofluorescence assay, 258 serum samples from patients with Q fever were tested against Bartonella henselae and Bartonella quintana antigens, and 77 serum samples from patients with infection by Bartonella sp. were tested against Coxiella burnetii antigen. Cross-reactivity was observed: more than 50\% of the chronic Q fever patients tested had antibodies which reacted against B. henselae antigen to a significant level. This cross-reaction was confirmed by a cross-adsorption study and protein immunoblotting. However, because the levels of specific antibody titers in cases of Bartonella endocarditis are typically extremely high, low-level cross-reaction between C. burnetii antibodies and B. henselae antigen in cases of Q fever endocarditis should not lead to misdiagnosis, provided serology testing for both agents is performed.},
issn = {0095-1137},
URL = {https://jcm.asm.org/content/34/9/2270},
eprint = {https://jcm.asm.org/content/34/9/2270.full.pdf},
journal = {Journal of Clinical Microbiology}
}